NYCB Vol. 19 No. 17- La Sonnambula

“Last night's program by the New York City Ballet at the City Center did not go in for novelty, but it certainly concentrated on performance with excellent results. The only unfamiliar item of the evening was Violette Verdy's first appearance in the role of the Sleepwalker in George Balanchine's "The Night Shadow," which she brought off with her by now well-established distinction. It is a role set in a single key and providing the slenderest thread upon which to hang characterization and individuality, but Miss Verdy puts her personal stamp firmly upon it. Perhaps the most striking aspect of her performance is the sense of wind-blown speed that she brings to it, as if she were propelled by some mysterious force outside herself.”

—John Martin, New York Times, 1960

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Violette Verdy and Nicholas Magallanes. Photos by Fred Fehl and Martha Swope, 1960.